Pickering approves ballot question on regional council numbers

Concerns that Pickering is under-represented, Oshawa over-represented

PICKERING -- When Pickering voters go to the polls this fall, it won’t just be council candidates they’re weighing in on.

The October ballot will also include a question about the make-up of Durham regional council.

On Feb. 24 Pickering council voted unanimously to put a question on the ballot asking residents whether Pickering should request that the size of regional council be reduced by distributing seats based on the population of each municipality.

“You don’t make monstrous changes overnight...but if you push the issue hopefully you’ll make some progress,” said Councillor Peter Rodrigues, who moved the motion.

He said it took time for change to happen on the elected regional chairman issue, but stressed that process was started by a ballot question.

Regional council has already had its say on council composition -- on Jan. 22 a motion to put a question on the October municipal election ballot was shot down by a vote of 15 to 9.

Councillor Doug Dickerson questioned the logic of discussing a ballot question in Pickering, when regional council has already closed the book.

“The sad fact is that it probably won’t have any effect at the Region,” he said.

Councillor Jennifer O’Connell said it’s crucial to push the issue, noting anticipated growth in Pickering means the city will have a larger population than Oshawa in the coming years, but will still be represented by four councillors at the Region, compared with Oshawa’s eight.

“This is about sending a message to the Region,” she said. “The current system is broken and unfair.”

The composition of Durham’s regional council was last changed in 1996, when the number of councillors was dropped from 32 to the current 28.

It has been estimated that “right sizing” council could save taxpayers about $660,000 a year.

Governance costs for Durham’s regional council are about 2.5 times more per capita than the costs for regional councils in York and Peel regions.

Durham council has 28 members representing about 608,000 people. In comparison, Peel Region has 24 councillors representing almost 1.3 million and York Region has 20 councillors representing just over one million people.